This Headline Is Not Written Backwards: Robin Thicke Sues Marvin Gaye's Estate Over "Blurred Lines"

It's so obvious it almost goes without saying: Robin Thicke's "Blurred Lines" is a song that is somewhat derived from Marvin Gaye's 1977 hit "Got To Give It Up."

Now the Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Thicke, Clifford Harris (T.I.), and Pharrell Williams are suing Marvin Gaye's family and Bridgeport Music, which owns some of Funkadelic's catalog.

"Plaintiffs, who have the utmost respect for and admiration of Marvin Gaye, Funkadelic and their musical legacies, reluctantly file this action in the face of multiple adverse claims from alleged successors in interest to those artists. Defendants continue to insist that plaintiffs' massively successful composition, 'Blurred Lines,' copies 'their' compositions," the suit says. It can be read in full here.

Bridgeport Music had claimed a similarity between "Blurred Lines" and Funkadelic's "Sexy Ways."George Clinton, however, tweeted his support for Thicke.

Thicke, Harris and Williams are looking for a decision that will pre-empt legal action on behalf of the music of both Gaye and Funkadelic. Says the Hollywood Reporter:

In seeking a judgment, Thicke, Williams and Harris Jr. are not only looking for a declaration that their song doesn't violate the defendants' rights by copying their songs, but also that the "Gayes do not have an interest in the copyright to the composition 'Got To Give It Up' sufficient to confer standing on them to pursue claims of infringement of that composition."